S2E2 - Meet The Team: Natalie Sulma

Meet Natalie Sulma, London’s PA & Operations Assistant. In this episode, Natalie gives an energetic peek behind the scenes at how she helps keep the firm running: leading daily bookkeeping as Head of UK Accounts, supporting Senior Partner David Pryce and acting as London office manager. She shares the biggest lesson learned from Practice Manager Donna Baldwin—unwavering dedication to the firm—and why working across all practice groups is the most rewarding part of her role.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Quickfire Questions
• 1:20 Natalie's Career Path and Education
• 2:34 Operations Role and Responsibilities
• 4:29 Social Committee and Fun Activities
• 6:25 Closing Thoughts

Transcript

Dru Corfield: 0:04

Hello and welcome to a new podcast series hosted by Fenchurch Law. The series aims to introduce every member of our four offices in short, informal podcasts. Today, I'm delighted to be joined by Natalie Solmer, who joined the London office in 2022. A very warm welcome, natalie.

Natalie Sulma: 0:19

Hey Drew.

Dru Corfield: 0:20

Before we dive into the pod, let's start with some quickfire questions.

Natalie Sulma: 0:23

Okay.

Dru Corfield: 0:24

So movies or TV shows.

Natalie Sulma: 0:27

TV shows.

Dru Corfield: 0:28

Any favourites at the moment.

Natalie Sulma: 0:30

Not at the minute, but I've just started watching the new Black Mirror series. Oh, I can't handle that?

Dru Corfield: 0:35

Have you seen Slow Horses? By the way?

Natalie Sulma: 0:37

Yeah, I have. I started it last night. Unreal Love that. But I'd say first series is the best.

Dru Corfield: 0:46

Okay, well, I'm on episode two of series one.

Natalie Sulma: 0:48

Spotify or Apple Music.

Dru Corfield: 0:49

Spotify. Countryside or city living.

Natalie Sulma: 0:53

Can I choose a bit of both or no? Yeah, she's just had two houses, yeah.

Dru Corfield: 0:59

And if you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Natalie Sulma: 1:02

Probably to be able to fly.

Dru Corfield: 1:04

I actually think I agree with that one. So thanks very much, Natalie. We've been at the firm for roughly the same amount of time. I started in early September 2022.

Natalie Sulma: 1:14

I was in October and you started, yeah, about a month later.

Dru Corfield: 1:17

So first question did you have a job before Fenchurch?

Natalie Sulma: 1:20

Yeah, I did. I worked for a kind of property management company that owned the free hills to lease our properties nice, and how long?

Dru Corfield: 1:30

how long did you do that? Um just a year and before that were you at university yes, I went to hull university nice, what did you read?

Natalie Sulma: 1:38

I did criminology with psychology did you enjoy?

Dru Corfield: 1:41

that?

Natalie Sulma: 1:41

yeah, yeah, very much. So I kind of I never really knew what I wanted to do coming out of college, so I just picked a subject that kind of interested me yeah, no, that's a good idea.

Dru Corfield: 1:51

And you, I did the same actually with history and politics, um, and you did. You had a little dalliance into law, didn't you? Because you did a conversion course, right yeah, I did so.

Natalie Sulma: 2:01

Um when COVID hit. Um, obviously it was well, 2020 was my final year um in uni, so obviously, when I would come out of uni and I'd always had an interest in law um, so I thought I'd give it a go, but, um, it was quite intense yeah, yeah, it was a horrible time.

Dru Corfield: 2:22

um, so you're obviously in our ops team. Well, I might not be obvious to the listeners, natalie's in our ops team listeners. So what does the everyday look like for you at the moment in terms of your job here?

Natalie Sulma: 2:34

Okay, well, I'm kind of the head of the UK accounts, so I do the daily bookkeeping. I'm also PA to our senior partner, david, um, so I set up a lot of his meetings, um, and do bits and bobs, um, and then, yeah, I'm kind of, I kind of I'm the office manager for the London office as well, so I just kind of keep everything running and for the benefit of the tape, natalie does very much keep everything running thank you and you also work very closely with Donna.

Dru Corfield: 3:05

massive shout out, Donna. She's our practice manager and she's been here from the start and is very much the foundation of the firm. What, in your opinion, is the biggest lesson that you've learned from her?

Natalie Sulma: 3:18

Okay, well, obviously she's taught me all of the account stuff. She's the one that trained me but the thing that sticks out to me is just her dedication to the firm. She's constantly thinking about what would benefit the firm and even kind of putting that above, maybe herself which. I think is just really, really impressive.

Dru Corfield: 3:41

No, she's amazing and actually, funnily enough, the first question that ex-employees ask me when you we bump into them is how's donna?

Natalie Sulma: 3:50

oh yeah, exactly, see, it just shows yeah, no.

Dru Corfield: 3:52

Massive shout out, donna. Next question what's the most rewarding part of your job that people might not realize?

Natalie Sulma: 3:59

I'd say that it's actually quite good because I'm in accounts. Obviously I get to kind of work with everyone in the firm, which is nice because I know specifically we have three practice groups for lawyers where there's not too much, um kind of collaboration yeah but I get to spend kind of equal times with everyone, which is really nice that's actually a very that's something I hadn't appreciated, so in terms of asking the way that people might not realize.

Dru Corfield: 4:28

I didn't realize that. So yeah, and obviously another thing that we got to talk about is the fact that we are both key members of the sock com, which is the social committee. In your opinion, between the two of us, who's really carrying the weight of that committee?

Natalie Sulma: 4:43

Well, I mean, you know I don't want to upset anyone, but no, if I'm being honest, I think we make a good team.

Dru Corfield: 4:50

I think you're very good at getting people motivated and moving, but I'd say I definitely put the yeah, you're the execution yeah, exactly, I do the practicalities, yeah I just I wouldn't call it bullying, but I heavily, heavily persuade people to attend social committee, exactly bordering on peer pressure. Yeah, no it definitely is, although none of my suggestions ever get taken because they always are quite left field for what we might do. Yeah, they're always uh not that popular um, and what was the last one we did?

Natalie Sulma: 5:21

It was the Fair game Fair. That was great, that was good, that was so much fun.

Dru Corfield: 5:25

And not just because I won.

Natalie Sulma: 5:29

Well, if there's a shooting game, yeah, okay.

Dru Corfield: 5:31

No idea what you're talking about. And if there was one social and this is your final question, so think about this one If you could come up with one social which everyone in the firm had to come to and had to participate in, what would you choose?

Natalie Sulma: 5:46

I've got one in mind, but it's just because I personally really want to do it gymnastics no no I did that growing up.

Dru Corfield: 5:52

I don't need to do shout out to nashley's gymnast skills.

Natalie Sulma: 5:56

She was very, very talented gymnast and no, I'd want to do puppy yoga, just purely to play with this. I don't know why you're laughing, sorry I just really want a dog, basically okay, and I'm can't have one.

Dru Corfield: 6:08

So you are with the whole firm. You want us all to watch each other do yoga around puppies without puppies.

Natalie Sulma: 6:15

It would probably be funny anyways yeah, okay, so puppies isn't added extra no, that's.

Dru Corfield: 6:21

That's one of the most original things I've ever heard um natalie. I knew we'd have fun. Uh, you're. You're a great energy around the office. Thank you so much for coming in and I hope you've enjoyed this yeah, thanks, jude.